17. CA legl. letter DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
CUPERTINO ~
_ Summary
AGENDA TI'EM AGENDA DATE Februarv 4, 2008 _
SUBJECT AND ISSUE
Adopt a resolutian authorizing the Mayor to execute a letter to iocal members of the California
legislature regarding ~iscal and programmatic d'zfficulties presented to local governments by
changes to the Municipal Regional Stormwater Pernut currently proposed by the San Francisco
Bay Regional Water Qua.lity Controi Board.
BACKGROUND
The Federal Clean Water Act was conceived as a means of dealing with the adverse impact of
pollation in storm water runoff on the rivers, streams, Iakes, oceans, and other waterways and
apen waters of the United States. Fizst passed in 1972, and amended a number of times through
the 1980s, the Act has evolved over the last decade or so to include a shift from a p~gram-by-
program, source-by-source, pollutant-by-pollutant approach to a xn~oxe holistic watershed-based
methodology. This evoiution led bath federai and state agencies charged with enforcement of
the Act's provisions to focus the empowering regulations on giving local agencies within
discrete watersheds the responsibility for monitoring pollutants and assuring compliance with the
~ provisions of the Ac~
The primary vehicle for conveying this responsibility to the local agencies has taken the form of
a National Pollutant Dischazge Elimination Systexx~. {NPDES) permit, now known in the San
Francisco Bay Region as the Municipal Regional Stormwater Permit, or MRP. The NIIZP
required the City of Cupertino to innplement the Storm Water Management'Progcana it has had in
place since 1992, and which it has recently amended, to control storm water runoff so that it does
not cause or contribute to a violation of the water quality standards of South San Francisco Bay.
The San Francisco Bay Region has eight entities, organized by county or regional flood control
district, e~ch a permittee of the MRP and ea.ch having a storm water mana.gement program
shared among its member agencies. The entity of which City of Cupertino is a member is the .
' Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program, or SCViJRPPP, an association
of thirteen cities and towns in tlie Santa Claxa Valley, together with Santa Clara Couniy and the
Santa Clara Valley Water District. There aLso exists an umbrella organization, the Bay Area
Stormwater Management Agencies Association, ar BASMAA, a consortium of the eight San
Francisco Bay Area municipal storm water progz~az~n.s, Caltrans, and the City and County of San
Francisco, which caz~ae into being to coordinate the aetivities of the member entities and speak
with a regioxial voice on issues concerni.ng the member storm water programs. ~
The local regulatory agency charged with formulating and enforcing the MRP in the greater San
Francisco Bay Area is the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Contxol Board (Regional
Boazd). Regional Board staff has proposed significant amendments to the MRP that are now
being reviewed by the regionat permittees and BASMAA. These amendments take the form of a
Tentative Order that is cutrently scheduled to be considered by the Regional Board at a public
hearing in March of this year. The amendments to the MRP suggested by Regional Board staff
include provisions that will have a significant fiscal impact on the permittees, esti.mated by
B~SMAA to be on the order of a 30% to 40% increase over a short period iri the cost to
permittees of administering their storm water programs.
BASMAA, SCVITRPPP, and many of the individual agencies have written to the Regional ~
Board to alert #he Board to the fiscal difficulties that adoption of the some of the proposed -
amendments to the MRP will present to the permittees. For example, new pollutant monitoring;
reporting, and trash control requirements will require additional agency sta£fing, and lowered
thresholds on the size of project regulated will add costs to public improvement projects, the
sources of funds for which are not presently identified. As a result, BASMAA, SCWRPPP, and
the individual agencies have requested of #he Regional Board tbat the changes to the MRP be
phased in over a longer period of time in order to enable the permittees to identify and seek the
resources necessary to include the new provisions in their storm wa.ter prograxns.
It should be emphasized that the proposed amendrnents ta the MRP, which include provisions for
• Pollutant-specific water monitoring,
• Expanded development and redevelopment requirements, including a reduction of the
minimum project area of regulated public or private area of development, redevelopment,
or impzovement from 10,000 square feet to 5,000 square feet,
• New requirements for trash and litter control,
• Data management and reporting requirements, and
• Specific requirements for storsn drain cleaning,
are, by and large, measures of which Cupertino and the other regional permittees are supportive.
We take seriously our role in carrying out the goals of the Clean Water Act.
However, because of the patential fiscal impact that immediate adoption of the proposed
amendments to the MRP would have on Cupertino, staff recommends that the City j oin with
BASMA.A, SCWRPPP, and the other permittees in the region to request a phasing in of those
amendments. As part of this effort, staff further recommends that Council authorize the Mayor
to execute a letter to local members of the California Legisiature, as requested by BASMAA,
requesting that those members assist Cupertino and the region's other MRP permittees both with
persuading the Regional Boazd to phase in the amendments to the MRP that would have a
significant fiscal impact and with locating funds that may help the pernaittees deat with the new
MRP provisions as they are phased in.
FISCAL IMPACT
Authori'ing the Mayor to com.municate with the local members of the Legislature may help
influence the rate at~ which changes to the MRP are instituted, thereby allowing the City time to
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identify the funds necessary to implement the programmatic changes to the MRP. It should be
noted that there are a number of constraints, such as Proposition 218, on the ability of Cupertino
and other local agencies to raise fees to affset the costs of the praposed axnendments to the MRP.
STAFF RECONIIV~NDATIUN .
S#aff recommends that Ciiy Council adopt Resolution No. 08-~~ , authorizing the Mayor
to execute a letter to local members of the California legislature regarding fiscal and
programmatic difficul~ies presented to local governments by changes to the Municipal Regional
Stormwater Permit currently proposed by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quaiity Cantrol
Board.
Submitted by: Appraved for submission:
- ~~~Y~--
~D~ Ra1ph A. Qualls, Jr. ~ David W. Knapp
Director of Public Works City Manager
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RESOLUTION NO. 08-017
A RESOLUTION OF TIiE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CUPERTINO
AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE A LETTER TO LOCAL MEMBERS OF
THE CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE REGARDING FISCAL AND PROGRAMMATIC
DIFFICULTIES PRESENTED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS BY CHANGES TO THE
MUNICIPAL REGIONAL STORMWATER PERMIT CURRENTLY PROPOSED BY
THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL BOARD
WHEREAS, the City of Cupertino is a permittee of the San Francisco Bay Municipal
Regional Stormwater Permit, or MRP; and
WHEREAS, the City of Cupertino wishes to continue in its role as an effective
participant in carrying out the provisions of the Federal Clean Water Act through efficient and
. timely pursuit of its Storm Water Management Program; and
WHEREAS, the City and its Santa Clara Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program
(SCWRPPP}, partners are in general agreement with amendments cunrently praposed to the
MRP by San Francisco Bay Regi~onal Water Qualiry Control Board Staff, but believe additional
time is required to phase in certain of the amendments to the 1~IRP ~ to allow SCVURPPP
members and other regional permittees to identify the resources necessary to implement the
proposed amendments;
NOW, THEREFORE, LET IT BE RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of
G~pertino hereby authorizes the Mayor to execute a letter to local membexs of the California
legislature regarding fiscal and . programmatic difficulties presented to local governments by
changes to the Municipal Regional Stormwater Permit currently proposed by the San Francisco
Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board.
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Cauncil of the City of
Cupertino this 4~ day of February 2Q08, by the £ollowiur~g vote:
Vote Members of the Citv Council
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
A.BSTAIN:
ATTEST: APPROVED:
City Clerk Mayor, City of Cupertino
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